


The Glorified Girlfriend

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do we need to have a discussion or an intervention?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Glorified Girlfriend

“ _Scooby Doo_.” She held up the live action film starring Freddie Prinze, Jr.

“Nope.” He shook his head.

“ _Willow_?”

That choice got another shake of the head.

“Ahh, what about _Elf_?”

“We can't watch _Elf_ , Agent Emily…it’s not Christmastime.”

“Well there is that.” Emily turned and grabbed a few more movies from the entertainment center.

“What about _The Incredibles_?”

“No.”

“ _The Wizard of Oz_?”

“No.”

“ _Shrek_?”

“No.”

“ _The Neverending Story_?”

“Nope.”

“I have one that you can't possibly turn down.” She pulled the DVD from behind her back. “ _Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course_.”

“Yeah!” Jack threw his hands up in the air in triumph.

Emily smiled and curtsied. When Jack was indecisive with movies, which was just about all the time, Crocodile Hunter always pacified him. He could watch the movie one hundred times. He had watched the movies a hundred times. Luckily Emily hadn't been there for all of those viewings. This would probably be the seventh time she would see it though. Always a Steve Irwin fan, she still shouldn’t have seen this movie so many times.

“What kind of snack do you want, Captain Jack?” she asked.

“Can I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?” he asked.

“You sure can…that sounds good.”

Emily put the movie in and then headed into her kitchen to make him a snack. He was spending Sunday afternoon with her. Haley was recovering from pneumonia. Her fragile physical state made her more prone to getting ill. She was hanging on but it wasn’t possible for her to fill mom duties right now.

Jessie was there, as always, but when Hotch was home on the weekends he always had Jack. Jessie was a newlywed and deserved that time to just be married. Imagine Hotch’s surprise when he was called to Quantico for meetings today. Sunday meetings weren't unheard of but nothing had been on his schedule. That was until the Section Chief was finally able to squeeze in time with the Deputy Director. The Unit Chief had no choice but to fall in line.

He also knew he couldn’t leave his five year old home alone. Agent Emily to the rescue. Hotch felt guilty…she seemed more like a glorified babysitter than his girlfriend. They were trying, more than trying, to get this relationship off the ground. Still, if they weren't out in the field where professionalism must always be maintained, something like this was happening.

Spending one or two nights together here and there was not the best way to conduct a relationship. For a love affair it was just great but that’s not what they wanted. It wasn’t what Emily wanted anyway. She realized that lately she and Hotch didn’t even have time to discuss what they wanted and when they wanted it. It was going to be a little difficult but they would have to soon enough. They would have to very soon.

Emily’s cell phone rang while she was spreading Skippy on potato bread. She saw it was Penelope so she picked up with a perky greeting.

“Peaches, I'm thinking a happy hour somewhere the liquor is cheap and the music is good.”

“I'm thinking kid’s films and snack time.”

“You're watching Jack again?” JJ’s voice chimed in.

“Hotch got called over to some emergency meetings at Quantico. Haley’s been sick and…no one else could do it.”

“Are you a babysitter or a girlfriend?” Garcia asked.

“Penelope!” JJ snapped.

“Well, I didn’t mean…what’s going on Emily?”

“You guys know I love doing this. I love spending time with him and…”

“Being a mom.” JJ said.

“I'm not his mom.”

“We know that.”

Penelope said it in two different tones. How the hell was it possible to say three words in two different tones? It was like _we know that_ and you don’t. But it was also _we know that_ so why are you always babysitting him. Emily wasn’t quite in the mood for any of them. She was, however, in the mood for a good happy hour. She would have to sit this one out.

“Guys, I just can't do it this evening…I'm sorry.” Emily sighed. “I want to but I also want this time with Jack. If we don’t get dragged off to God knows where this week, Tuesday night the drinks are on me.”

“Absinthe!” JJ and Penelope said in unison.

Tuesday was ladies night and the ladies of the BAU never paid for drinks. That first round would be on Emily but she’d be saving a lot more than she was spending that night.

“Are you OK, Peaches?” Penelope asked. “Do we need to have a discussion or an intervention?”

“I’ll let you know.” Emily smirked.

“You know we love you Em.” JJ said. “We love Hotch and Jack too but…you're our girl.”

“I know. I'm fine; we’re fine I promise. Someone give Jordan a call about Tuesday night.”

“I'm on it.” Penelope replied. “We’ll see you later.”

“Bye guys.” Emily hung up her phone, cut the sandwich into quarters, grabbed a glass of milk, and went back out into the living room. Jack was engrossed in the movie when she sat down beside him.

“I thought you fell in.” he said giggling. He thanked her for the sandwich.

“What are you talking about, Jack?” she asked.

“That’s what my daddy says when I'm in the bathroom too long. That’s funny, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Emily grinned. “It is.”

“Want one of my squares?” he held up the sandwich.

“No sweetie, those are all for you. I want you to enjoy them.”

“OK.”

Jack sat back against the couch pillows and ate his sandwich. George came by with his nose up and his paw out but Emily shooed him away before Jack would share with him. Cats didn’t need peanut butter. Jack was going to ask why cats can't eat peanut butter but his movie was on. He’d try to remember to ask later. It seemed like a very important question.

***

“Hi.” Hotch stepped over the threshold a few hours later and kissed Emily’s lips. “That went on for longer than I expected.”

“Really?” she raised en eyebrow.

“OK, that went on for longer than I wanted. How are things here?”

“We’re just fine. Jack…Daddy’s here.”

“Daddy!” he jumped down from the dining room chair where he was coloring and ran into his father’s arms. “You missed all the fun. Me and Agent Emily watched Crocodile Hunter. We played Memory and colored and talked and all kinds of fun stuff. You missed it, Daddy.”

“I'm sorry about that Jack, but at least you had fun. You had fun right?”

“I had the most fun ever.”

When he grinned the Hotchner dimples poked holes into his cheeks. Hotch kissed his cheek and then put him back on the floor. While Jack was off for more coloring, his father focused on Emily.

“Did you have the most fun ever?” He asked.

“It was a great afternoon. I think I want to spend the evening being a grownup though.”

“What did you have in mind?” Hotch couldn’t help but smile. He knew what he had in mind. It was just after six; Jack needed to have dinner. He had bedtime by eight and that gave the grownups at least three hours of alone time before sleep called their names.

“My girlfriends, a bottle of wine, and a dish I never tried before.” Emily replied.

“Huh?”

“JJ and Penelope called earlier about getting together. I had to say no because I had Jack but you're back now. Now I can say yes.”

“Yeah.” Hotch nodded, doing his best not to show his disappointment.

“I'm gonna call Penelope. Do you guys wanna hang out here for the evening or do you want to take Jack home?”

“Well I don’t think he has any school clothes here or we’d just stay.”

“OK, well let me make a phone call. Don’t go just yet.”

Hotch nodded as Emily made her way to the kitchen for a little privacy. She pushed Penelope’s number on speed dial and listened to the phone ring. Penelope had the kind of ring tone where you actually heard the music when you called. Emily could only giggle that Siouxsie and the Banshees _Dear Prudence_ was her ring tone.

“Hey Em.”

“Dear Prudence?” she asked.

“It used to be _Lips like Sugar_ but the boy thought that was a little weird.” Penelope replied.

“Are you still up for going out?”

“Is the Pope German? Wait…is the Pope German?”

“Yes, he is.” Emily laughed.

“Then that’s my answer and I'm sticking to it. Where we going Peaches? Are we playing _Charlie’s Angels_ , _The Witches of Eastwick_ , or _Sex and the City_?”

“We’re playing the Profiler Game.” She replied. Sometimes when the girls went out they would pick a restaurant and just wonder aloud what people around them were thinking. You would think with all the profiling she did daily, Emily would hate that game. The truth was she had been playing it in one way or another for her entire life.

“Ooh, I love that game. Where are we going?”

“Someplace where we don’t need a reservation but we've never been before. I'm in the mood for a new crowd.”

“I'm so on it.” Penelope said. “I’ll call JJ and Jordan then get back to you. Leave it all to me.”

“It’s in your very capable hands, oh great one.”

“You better know it.” Penelope laughed. “Garcia out.”

“Bye.”

Emily hung up the phone just as Hotch was walking in. He looked at her but she couldn’t quite read his face. It wasn’t the first time so she wasn’t really worried.

“I was kind of hoping we could spend the evening together.” he said.

“Well it’s been a while since I've been able to go out with my girlfriends. Work keeps us so busy and when I'm not working I'm spending time with you and Jack.”

“I know, but…”

“But what?”

“I had some plans.” Hotch replied.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I came up with them on the way back from Quantico.” He sighed. “It’s OK. I want you to have fun tonight.”

“I want you and Jack to do the same. Aaron, have you ever thought about us maybe having some fun without Jack? He’s amazing, I adore him and you know that, but…”

“I know. I've been using him as a shield.”

“I didn’t say that.” Emily replied.

“You didn’t say it because you're wonderful. We both know it’s true. Dating is something I haven’t done in decades but even I know I'm doing a bad job of it right now. And it doesn’t help that we…I should be showing you more affection.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. Here Emily wanted to have a conversation similar to this and as soon as she opened up, she shut down. This was so the story of their lives.

“Aaron, I love you.”

“I love you too.” he came closer and put his arms around her. “I love you and I shouldn’t just expect that you'll fall in line, be a mother to my son and a lover to me. We need our time; I want our time.”

“Me too.” Emily nodded, caressing his face.

“So I’ll plan something very special for next Friday night. If we’re not out in the field then we’ll go out on the town. Dinner, dancing…we’ll do the whole kit and caboodle.”

“You don’t dance.”

“We’ll dance very slowly. Just watch your feet and I think we’ll be OK.”

Emily laughed and she kissed him. Then she hugged him close. She never wanted to let him go; she was so happy that they had finally made their way into each other’s lives. When Hotch kissed her again, Emily felt breathless.

“Maybe we can go away for the weekend.” She whispered. “Do you think that’s possible?”

“Where do you wanna go?” he asked.

“I don’t care, as long as it’s me and you. Asterisk, its me and you and we have to leave the corridor. I know its short notice with Jack and everything but…”

“No, I’ll find a way.” Hotch kissed her nose. “I’ll make the plans and we’ll go.”

“Really?” Emily couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice. They’d never been anywhere. It was her bedroom or his bedroom, her living room or his kitchen. They hadn't even gone out for a real dinner yet. Yes, she loved the Georgetown Diner and pizza or Asian fusion with the team was always a good time but something had to give.

“Absolutely. I think we both deserve a little time away from it all.”

And it would just be a little. Still, Hotch wouldn’t look a gift weekend in the mouth. A gift weekend alone with Emily was even more cause to celebrate. So how come he couldn’t get rid of that feeling in the pit of his stomach that a million things were going to stop this from ever happening. She must have sensed it too because her face fell a bit when he tried to smile.

“I guess I should get Jack and get out of your hair.” he said.

“You guys are never in my hair.” Emily replied.

They went back into the living room, Hotch told his son it was time to go.

“Where are we going?” Jack asked, hoping down from his chair.

“Its time to go home, buddy.”

“We’re not staying with Agent Emily?”

“Well I'm going out with some friends tonight, Jack Jack, for a little grownup time. So you and daddy are going home.”

“Will you come over later?” Jack asked.

“Not tonight, sweetie, but soon I promise.”

“Promise, promise?” he asked.

Emily smiled, crouching down in front of him.

“I super duper promise, promise.” she replied.

“OK.” He grinned, throwing his arms around her. “I love you, Agent Emily.”

“I love you too.”

“C'mon Jack, you clean up your crayons and stuff while I pack your toys.” Hotch grabbed his backpack from the side of the couch.

“I'm going to hop in the shower.” Emily said. She gave Hotch a kiss on the cheek. “You guys have a safe drive home and I’ll call you later tonight.”

“I love you, Em.”

“Love you too.”

She went upstairs, glad she had an excuse. Emily hated watching Hotch and Jack leave. To her it always felt as if it would be the last time. She had no idea how this was going to work, if it was going to work. If she thought about it too much, Emily might cry and she wasn’t a crier dammit.

She was a fighter, she was a lover when she wanted to be, and she was strong. What they had could never be conventional; outside forces made that so. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t be good. Just one moment could make all the difference and Emily wanted her moment. It wasn’t going to happen like it did in the movies but it was going to happen.

She would get her man, her happiness, and everything she wanted. Her mother always told her that nothing worth having was easy. Loving Aaron Hotchner really drove that point home. Emily would never tell her mother that she was right but she was.

***

  



End file.
